polymers

Brandeis University researchers have created an organic gel that, despite being lifeless, seems to move of its own volition. While the movements are too small to be seen with the naked eye, when viewed under a microscope, microtubules in the gel flow of their own accord, moving like living cells viewed on a slide. You can take a look at the surprisingly soothing motion of this groundbreaking goo after the break.
Read More

While the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is in our collective rearview mirror, the countdown has begun to our next senseless, ecologically shattering oil spill, which is really not an "if" but a "when." In an instance of not quite so cold comfort, though, we may have a better way to clean up the next spill. A team of scientists at Penn State has proposed a new cleanup method -- massive polymer sheets that float on water and can sop up as much as 40 times their own weight in spilled oil.Read More